President Xanana starts four-day visit to W. Timor

President Xanana starts four-day visit to W. Timor

Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang

East Timor President Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao started his
four-day visit in West Timor with more calls for the repatriation
of the remaining 33,000 East Timorese refugees and a stronger
commitment to developing better ties with Indonesia, especially
the East Nusa Tenggara province (NTT).

Flying aboard a special UN aircraft from Dili, Xanana and his
entourage, including East Timor Parliament Speaker George Teme
and his deputy Jacob Fernandez and Deputy Minister of Education
Virgilio Smith, arrived in the city around at 10 a.m. local time
and were greeted by NTT Governor Piet A. Tallo.

Under tight security, Xanana held separate meetings with local
officials, legislators and religious leaders to discuss the two
main issues with them. More than 1,800 security personnel from
the local police and military were deployed to enhance security
in all places the East Timor president will visit.

In a meeting with Tallo, legislators and other local
officials, Xanana expressed his willingness to make the province
a "gateway" for the export of Indonesian product to East Timor
due to the province's strategic position and the ethnic and
religious ties between the two regions' population.

He said East Timor wanted to develop good ties with Indonesia
and Kupang could become a center for East Timorese to build
business relationships.

Tallo appreciated Xanana's willingness during their meeting
and said that he would ask local businesspeople and traders to do
business with their East Timorese counterparts.

At the national level, Indonesia and East Timor have set up a
joint committee to develop good ties in all fields and to discuss
Indonesian assets in East Timor after the territory declared its
independence on May 20, 2002.

East Timor which chose independence in a UN-sponsored self-
determination vote on Aug. 30, 1999, was annexed by then
president Soeharto in 1976 after it had been colonized by
Portugal for 450 years.

Xanana who visited West Timor in his capacity as East Timor's
presidential candidate in March, called on remaining East
Timorese refugees to return home to help build the tiny new
country.

He said East Timor had opened its arms for the refugees and
they should not fear repatriation because most refugees had gone
back to their home villages without any problems.

Rev. Piet Olin who represented Kupang Bishop Mgr. Petrus
Turang to receive Xanana, said after the meeting that Xanana
wanted refugees to forget the past and to return home to build
their future.

He also said that the Catholic Church would continue to
provide humanitarian aid for refugees and persuade them to go
back home without any interference in East Timor's political
affairs.

The remaining refugees are a small part of some 295,000 East
Timorese people who were forced out of the territory in 1999
shortly after the self-determination ballot, in which nearly 80
percent of East Timorese people voted to reject Jakarta's offer
of autonomy, which led to independence.

In a related development, eight representatives of refugees in
Noelbaki, Kupang regency, expressed their disappointment with the
organizing committee for Xanana's visit after they were denied
access to attend Xanana's meeting with former militia leaders at
the Kristal Hotel in the city.

The eight refugee figures were not allowed to take part in the
meeting as they did not have invitations.

The warned that they would boycott the planned meeting between
Xanana and the refugees in Noelbaki camp on Saturday in
retaliation for the organizing committee's action.

Antonio Guterres said he and the other seven representatives
of the refugees came to the city not on their own initiative but
were asked by the East Nusa Tenggara Military officials to attend
the meeting.

Xanana is scheduled to hold a dialog with refugees in Noelbaki
on Saturday and to watch a soccer match between an East Timor
team and a local team.

Xanana will also visit Belu regency where a majority of the
remaining refugees are living.